Q&A · 30:11-34:11

Twin-engine carrier aircraft timing

A naval aviation answer links twin-engine carrier aircraft to carrier size, deck-edge lifts, and treaty limits.

Question

In ideal circumstances, when could twin-engine carrier aircraft have been deployed?

Short answer

He places practical deployment in the late 1930s under treaty conditions, but says a no-treaty world with larger carriers and better lifts could move it into the late 1920s.

Notes

French late-1930s plans show why carrier design matters as much as aircraft design. Larger lifts, especially deck-edge lifts, make twin-engine aircraft more practical at sea. Without treaty pressure limiting carrier evolution, larger carriers and more lift experimentation could bring the idea forward substantially.